Volunteers Needed: CCBC's Poverty Simulation Event

Volunteer staffers are needed to assume the roles of community action agency staff members, school staff, bankers, police officers, HR, pawn shop broker, etc. There will be a brief training session prior to the event.

Could you survive a month in poverty?

Approximately 32.9 million Americans, 11.7 million of whom are children under the age of 18, live in poverty every day. Many more have incomes above the poverty line, but their incomes are still low enough to qualify for programs like Supplemental Nutritional Assistance Program (SNAP) and Medicaid. The recent economic downturn has seen unemployment rates rise and the use of emergency food pantries increase.

It is difficult for those of us who have more than our basic needs met to truly understand the situations that families living in poverty experience every day–the decisions they have to make, and the fears and frustrations they feel. That is why we are inviting you to walk a mile in the shoes of those facing poverty by participating in the poverty simulation.

This simulation provides participants with the opportunity to assume the roles of mid to low-income family members living on a limited budget. The experience is divided into 15–minute sessions, each of which represents one week in which you must provide for your family and maintain your home. As one participant commented, “This simulation dramatically demonstrates how much time and energy many families have to give to survive from day to day. It quickly dispels the myth “that people would do fine if they would only go out and get a job!”

Please RSVP by emailing Sonya Caesar scaesar@ccbcmd.edu or calling her at 443-840-1473 by October 4th. We look forward to your participation.